Obligation To Love. Catherine O'Connor

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СКАЧАТЬ at him. She couldn’t face those eyes: they were too dark, almost black, and they held a sinister gleam that alerted her instincts. His gaze seemed to pierce her soul with a sharpness that belied the new sultry warmth in them.

      ‘So I gathered.’ Now his voice contained the warm laughter of friendship and Hayley found herself smiling at him, despite herself. ‘But you like to travel, no?’ he asked, his accent suddenly pronounced. Hayley nodded in agree-ment; up until now it had been Melissa who had been allowed the money to travel. Hayley wanted her to have everything she could, and willingly sacrificed her own pleasures for Melissa.

      ‘Yes, there are so many countries in the world I should like to see,’ she said wistfully, thinking about all the wonderful places she had seen depicted by artists over the years in the gallery.

      ‘What has prevented you? I see you are not married,’ he stated briefly, casting a glance at her bare left hand.

      ‘No, but I had other commitments,’ she admitted. Somehow she was secretly pleased he had noticed she was single, though she tried hard to dismiss the thought. She had never been very interested in men—not yet; not till Melissa was settled.

      ‘Which were?’ he enquired, a questioning frown on his brow. He leant closer and Hayley was even more aware of the attraction she felt for this stranger.

      She laughed. ‘Nothing really; I have a younger sister. She has never kept good health, and I felt a holiday abroad once a year was of more value to her than me.’

      ‘Just a younger sister?’

      ‘Yes, there are just the two of us. Naturally, as the eldest, I have had to take responsibility,’ she admitted, disliking the dark shadow that crossed his face.

      ‘How noble of you,’ he said coolly.

      ‘There’s nothing noble about helping those you love,’ she snapped back at him, suddenly irritated by his aloofness and his taunting voice.

      ‘Are you sure you were helping?’ he retorted, his words stabbing, and his look deeply probing. Hayley felt herself flush once more; he was far too perceptive. Had she not asked herself the same question so many times, yet been unable to find a satisfactory answer? Melissa, younger by six years, had always been the family’s priority. As a child she’d suffered from severe asthma and her parents had tended to be overprotective. Even now, Hayley constantly worried about Melissa.

      ‘You don’t understand,’ she protested with her usual protective zeal. ‘Her need was greater than mine. She really was ill,’ Hayley explained quickly, distrusting the look on his hard face. She felt herself grow more irritated by his attitude. Even though he was a total stranger, Hayley did not want him thinking badly of Melissa. Too many other people had done that in the past and it always upset Hayley.

      ‘I think I understand very well,’ he answered, his voice betraying nothing of what he was truly thinking, though Hayley sensed his disapproval. His manner was that of someone who assumed he was rarely wrong and his expression one of distant supremacy. Hayley felt such vexation that she turned her head from him to look out of the window. There was something about him that bothered her; he seemed to be as sharp as a needle, and there was a darkness about him too.

      ‘Do you always resent criticism of your sister so much?’ he teased, his warm breath stroking the side of Hayley’s face. She flung round, her eyes angry, as much with her own body’s reaction to him as with his haunting words.

      ‘You simply don’t understand. I took care of my sister with very little help when I was still no more than a child myself. It was hard work, and yes, no doubt I did make errors—even the most experienced parents do—but at least we stayed together!’ she snapped, proud of her achievement, even if it was so little in his view.

      ‘There was no other family who would have taken you in?’ he asked, his expression sceptical.

      ‘None—well, none who could have coped. There was only one grandparent alive and she was too frail. She couldn’t possibly have coped with nebulisers and spin inhalers, no.’ Hayley shook her head. It would have been too much to ask.

      ‘But you managed?’

      ‘I had no alternative. The social services offered foster care, explaining that once you reach teenage years you’re less attractive to potential adopters.’ She saw his eyebrows rise in surprise and continued, ‘Not that I ever even considered care as an option. I wanted us to stay together, as a family.’ Hayley became lost in her own thoughts, her expression softening at the thought of her sister. Melissa had been but a child of twelve when her parents had tragically died, and Hayley had loved her deeply. She shook her head as she thought of all the sacrifices she herself had made over the years, even abandoning her desire to go to art college in order to look after Melissa. She had tried so hard to give Melissa all she wanted, but she had begun herself to wonder about the wisdom of her decisions. Though Melissa had a heart of gold and was generous and loving, she was a little spoilt, though Hayley was con-vinced she would grow out of it.

      ‘A penny for them?’ he asked, breaking into her thoughts.

      ‘I won’t rob you of your penny; they’re not worth that much.’ She tried to smile.

      ‘I think I can afford to chance one penny.’ He gave a low, deep rumble of a laugh, and Hayley felt her smile broaden.

      ‘I was just thinking that, when I was eighteen, I wanted to go to art college. Sally, a good friend then, was also going—we had it all planned. The first year we would live on campus, and the following year get a flat or bedsit together. Somewhere cheap and nasty that we would miraculously transform with our natural artistic skills.’ Hayley giggled at the memory; it seemed so long ago, as if she were talking about another person, not herself.

      ‘Instead, you now work in a gallery.’ He sounded kind, but Hayley immediately bristled—she hated pity.

      ‘I love my work in the gallery. I have a good eye for talent and now, thank goodness, realise I don’t have what it takes to become a household name.’

      ‘And Sally?’ he asked, a glacier light forming in his eyes, as he realised he had touched a nerve.

      ‘I grew up when my parents died. Sally was still a schoolgirl. It was inevitable that we drift apart.’ Hayley tried to sound matter-of-fact, but her hurt feelings did not go unchallenged.

      ‘True friends remain together, no matter what,’ he insisted.

      ‘Then perhaps she wasn’t as close a friend as I had imagined,’ Hayley snapped. She turned away from him so he could not see her pain—but he already had.

      ‘Here, take this.’ The man’s voice seemed to vibrate through her thoughts, shattering them to pieces.

      Hayley turned round to face a cup of steaming hot coffee, brought by the stewardess. The rich aroma made her suddenly aware how thirsty she was. She thanked the girl gratefully. The man studied her reaction with unconcealed interest, and Hayley could feel his intensity. She kept her head lowered, unable to face him.

      ‘Aren’t you going to drink it?’ he asked.

      ‘It’s too hot,’ she answered briefly.

      ‘Too hot?’ he queried, noticing that the drink hadn’t even touched her lips.

      ‘Afraid so. I’m having СКАЧАТЬ